Ore upgrader



Patented Nov. 5, 1952 snaznss ORE UPGRADER Arthur G. Bearing, 721 E.Safer St, Greenville, Ohio Filed Sept. 9, 1957, filer. No. 682,763 8Claims. (Cl. 241-19) This invention relates to an ore upgrader, and moreparticularly to a mechanical process for extracting minerals, as forexample uranium and vanadium, from the gangue making up the body of theore.

Ores such as those bearing the elements uranium and vanadium, as foundin the United States, frequently consist primarily of soft sandstonewherein the minerals are deposited on the surfaces and in the crevicesof the siliceous crystals which form the sandstone. One of the chiefproblems in the successful and economical extraction of uranium andvanadium minerals, as well as other minerals found in such ores, is thatof seperating the minerals from the siliceous crystals or sand grains.

An object of this invention is to provide means for mechanicallyextracting minerals from the ore gangue without the aid of chemicalleaching.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ore upgraderfor mechanically abrading mineral deposits adhered to the surfaces ofore granules so as to free the mineral deposits for separation from thegangue.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus forsubjecting ore granules to ballistic interaction so as to abrademinerals deposited on the surfaces of these granules to thereby free theminerals from the granules.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an ore upgradingdevice for separating minerals from granular ore materials, which devicesubjects the ore materials to ballastic interaction so as to freeminerals adhered to the surfaces thereof in the presence of highfrequency sound waves.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide, in combinationwith a mechanical ore upgrading apparatus, means for collecting theconcentrated minerals obtained through upgrading of the ore in separateclasses according to their specific gravity.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, thecombination thereof, the method of manufacture and the mode ofoperation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawing, the FIGURE is a perspective view with parts broken awayillustrating the ore upgrader of this invention.

Referring to the FIGURE in detail, there is illustrated a jaw crusher 10for receiving raw ore and fracturing the ore into fragments. This jawcrusher is of the conventional type, including inclined jaws 12 and 14,the latter of which is oscillated by means of an eccentric cam 16,cooperating to crush ore flowing downwardly therebetween. The ore isfractured to a sufficiently small size that it may drop through acrevice at the base of the jaw crusher between the jaws 12 and 14.Ordinarily, the jaw crusher is employed to fracture the ore intofragments an inch or smaller in diameter.

The fractured ore drops into a storage bin 18 and flows therefrom onto aconveyor belt 20, which conveys the ore fragments into a hammer mill 22.The hammer mill 22 is of the conventional type, wherein drums 24,supporting blades 26, rotate at high speeds causing the blades toshatter the ore fragments. The blades 26 repeatedly strike and shatterthe ore fragments until these fragments are sufiiciently small that theydrop through a screen 28 at the base of the hammer mill. Generally, thecapacity of commercial jaw crushers materially exceeds the capacity ofcommercial hammer mills. Ac-

cordingly, the storage bin 18 is employed to accumulate ore fragmentspassing from the jaw crusher so that, while the hammer mill operatescontinuously, the jaw crusher may be operated intermittently.

The screen 28 at the base of the hammer mill is provided with a meshwhich varies according to the ore being processed. In the case ofuranium and vanadium bearing sandstones, the screen preferably has amesh corresponding to the size of the sand granules. For such ores anmesh screen is used, however, satisfactory results are obtained withscreens ranging from 40 to mesh. Preferably, in any ore upgradingoperation, the mesh of the screen 28 corresponds to the naturalgraininess of the ore.

The ore, upon passing through the screen 28, flows by gravity along anopen slide 30 into the air intake of a centrifugal blower 32. The slide30 is open at the top thereof to provide for unrestricted movement ofair into the blower 32. The blower 32, which is a high velocity blower,drives air, and the ore fragments from the hammer mill 22 therewith, ina vertically upwardly directed collimated stream passing through avertically oriented elongate cylindrical tank 34. There may be providedmeans for introducing hot gases in the blower 32. Where a diesel engine29, shown schematically, is employed to drive the jaw crusher and thehammer mill, these hot gases may be obtained from the exhaust pipe 31from the engine 29. The hot gases are employed, when available,primarily to facilitate subsequent chemical treatment of the upgradedore and are not required for efficient operation of the presentapparatus.

Mounted adjacent the top of the tank 34, by means not shown, is aninverted saucer-like baffle 36. The ore fragments rising verticallyupwardly through the cylindrical tank =34- impinge upon the baffle 36rebounding downwardly through the tank. Inasmuch as the ore fragmentsare highly abrasive and are driven at such a high velocity that theyresemble a sandblast, it is preferable that the baffle 36 have aresilient plastic or rubber liner 37 to reduce as much as possible theabrasive wear.

Through the operation of the baffle 36, the ore fragments or granulesare redirected or reflected upon them selves such that they will impingeone against the other. As a result, a type of ballistic interactionbetween the ore fragments is produced Within the cylindrical tank 34.Particles which have been deflected out of the main stream of orefragments, illustrated in the drawing by the broad arrows 33, aredeflected back into the central air stream by deflectors 4%. A pluralityof these deflectors 40 are arranged in vertically spaced relation withinthe tank. Each of these deflectors 40 comprises an annular ringencircling the central air stream and secured to the wall of thecylindrical tank 34. The deflectors 48 are tapered radially inwardly so'as to have a triangular cross section, the upper tapered side 42 ofeach deflecto serving to defiect downwardly moving ore fragments intothe upwardly moving air stream, and the lower tapered side 44 of eachdeflector serving to deflect upwardly moving ore particles into theupwardly moving air stream and continually to collimate the central airstream.

This scattering and deflection of ore fragments will produce abrasion ofthe surfaces of the tank 34 and deflectors 4%. Where this abrasion issevere, these surfaces may be protected, as desired, by a resilientrubber or plastic coating.

The base of the cylindrical tank 34 is truncated, as illustrated at 46,and i provided with an ore outlet 48 at the extreme lowest portionthereof. The truncated portion 46 serves as a slide for guiding orefragments into the outlet 48. The top of the cylindrical tank 34 abovethe baflle 36 is provided with a centrally located outlet for the airstream. A siren 52 is mounted at any convenient location in the side ofthe tank 34 and functions to introduce high frequency sound waves intothe tank 34. Preferably, the siren generates sound waves having afrequency exceeding audible frequencies. The siren may be protected fromthe sandblast by suitable batfies, not shown.

From the foregoing description of the cylindrical tank 34 with itsassociated baffie and deflectors, it is apparent that the ore fragmentsbeing introduced into the tank 34- by means of the high velocity blowerwill be subjected to repeated ballistic interactions, such that the orefragments will abrade the minerals deposited on their surfaces from oneanother. After numerous repeated ballistic interactions, thedemineralized ore fragments eventually work their way in a random mannerto the base of the tank 34, where, guided by the truncated portion 46,the ore fragments drop through the outlet 48. The minerals, on the otherhand, which are extremely small and com paratively lightweightparticles, migrate with the air stream around the battle 36 into theoutlet St at the top of the tank 34. The high frequency sound wavesproduced by the siren 52 function to facilitate the mineral separationand further to prevent recombination of the minerals with the oregangue.

The partially demineralized ore fragments flowing out of the base of thecylindrical tank 34 move downwardly on an open slide 54 into the airintake of a second high velocity blower 56. This blower 56 drives theparticles through a conduit 58 into a second cylindrical tank 69identical to the tank 34. Here the ore particles are subjected onceagain to repeated ballistic interactions t further remove minerals fromthe surfaces thereof. The or gangue, further demineralized, dropsthrough an opening 61 in the base of the tank 6% through a conduit 64onto a conveyor 63 for disposal in the usual manner.

While two ballistic interaction tanks 34 and 6%) have been illustratedin the present ore upgrading apparatus, it will be apparent that,depending upon the efficiency with which it is desired to operate theapparatus, a single ballistic interaction tank may be employed ornumerous successive ballistic interaction tanks may be employed beforethe demineralized ore fragments are eventually removed for disposal.

The mineral laden air streams emerging from tops of the tanks 34 and 6%are blended in a conduit 62. The conduit 62 connects with a blower 65.The capacity of the blower 65 in relation to that of the blowers 32 and56 is such as to maintain an air pressure in the conduit 62 lower thanthat in each of the tanks 34 and 6t). This facilitates removal ofmineral particle from the ballistic interaction tanks 34 and 6G.

The mineral laden air stream driven by the blower 65 passes through aduct 66 having an outlet 68 communicating with a settling tank 7% A duct72 connects the settling tank 70 with another settling tank 74. Asillustrated, the duct 72 has a cross sectional area exceeding that ofthe outlet 68 in the duct 66. The settling tank communicates with athird settling tank 76 through a duct 78 having a still larger crosssectional area. From the settling tank 76 of the air stream movesthrough a duct 80 into a cylindrical centrifuge tank 82. As illustrated,the duct 86 engages the centrifuge tank 82 tangentially so that the airmoving through the duct {it enters the centrifuge tank 82 tangentially.The produces a cyclonic movement of air Within the tank 82. A duct 8disposed centrally on the top of the tank 82. permits the air at thecenter of the cyclone established within the tank 82 to move out of thetank to the ambient atmosphere.

The settling tanks 7%), '74, and 76 and the centrifuge tank 82 functionto remove the minerals from the air stream moving therethrough in thefollowing manner: Due to the increasing cross sectional area of theducts 66 and '72 and 78, the air stream moves through the settling alltanks 7% 74 and 76 at successively smaller velocities. As a result, avolume of air moving in the air stream will spend a greater period oftime in the settling tank 76 than in the tank '74, and a greater periodof time in the tank 7-fthan in the tank 7 Mineral particles drop out ofthe air stream continuously as it moves from the duct 66 into thecentrifuge tank 821, the heaviest particles dropping out first and thelightest particles dropping out last. Accordingly, the settling tank 7twill, for the most part, receive the heaviest particles carried by theair stream. The settling tank 74 will receive lighter particles and thesettling tank 76 will receive still lighter particles.

The particles remaining in the air stream emerging from the tank 76 arecentrifuged from the air stream into the tank 82. as a result of thecyclonic movement of air within this tank. The centrifuged particlesdrop into a funnel portion 8 5 at the base of the tank 812.

The air emerging from the tank 82 through the duct $4 is substantiallyfree of mineral particles.

in the foregoing, a process for removing minerals from the air stream,wherein the minerals are divided into four groups according to specificgravity has been described. It is to be understood that the divisionaccording to specific gravity is neither precise nor abrupt. However, insome cases, particularly in the case of uranium and vanadium ores wherethe uranium mineral has a greater specific gravity than the vanadiummineral, the resultant enrichment of the uranium mineral may effectimportant economies in the subsequent chemical separation of uranium andvanadium.

In the foregoing, a purely mechanical method for upgrading cre has beendescribed. In typical pilot opera tions, an apparatus such as thatdescribed herein processing 2400 tons of uranium ore per day produces 24tons of enriched uranium ore with approximately 98% endciency. That is,98% of the mineral present in the original ore is being recovered in48,060 pounds of enriched ore.

These figures were obtained with apparatus operating continuously.Continuous operation is preferred for the reason that each shutdown ofthe apparatus will result in a loss of minerals in the granules whichare permitted to settle out of the tanks 34 and 60.

In the preceding, the construction and operation of the apparatus hasbeen described with particular emphasis on demineralizing sandstoneores. It will be apparent, however, that any ore formed of granules, orthe like, having minerals adhered to the surfaces thereof may beprocessed in the present equipment.

Although the device has been described in connection with the use ofminerals deposited in sandstone, the same apparatus and the same methodmay be used where uranium and vanadium is found in the seams ofstratified ores. That is, the gangue may be found in layers and theuranium and vanadium ore being deposited in the seams between the layersof gangue.

The apparatus and the process disclosed herein may be used in upgradinga great number of different types of ores, as for example, mineralbearing lignite, shale, phosphorous stones, pitchblende and undoubtedlynumerous other types of ores.

Although the device is described primarily for use in connection withuranium and vanadium ores, the same process and the same apparatus maybe used for upgrading numerous other types of minerals. Up to thepresent time, the apparatus has been used in upgrading 2.1 differentminerals.

Although the preferred embodiments of the device have been described, itwill be understood that within the purview of this invention variouschanges may be made in the form, details-proportion and arrangment ofparts, the combination thereof, and mode of operation, which generallystated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects setforth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an apparatus for upgrading ore, including means for fracturing theore into granules of a predetermined mesh, means for subjecting the oregranules to ballistic interaction to free the minerals adhered to thesurfaces thereof, and means for separating the granules thus freed fromthe ore fragments, the means for subjecting the ore fragments toballistic interaction including a vertically disposed tank, meansproviding an ore inlet at the bottom of said tank, first blower meansassociated with said inlet receiving the ore fragments and hurling theore fragments vertically upwardly into said tank in an air stream, meansproviding a baflie in said tank for limiting unobstructed upward motionof said air stream and reflecting the ore fragments carried in said airstream downwardly through said tank, a plurality of deflector elementsmounted on the sides of said tank for deflecting the downwardly movingore fragments into the upwardly moving air stream for producingballistic interaction of the ore fragments, the means for separating theminerals freed by ballistic interaction of the ore granules includingmeans providing an outlet from said tank above said baflle, secondblower means associated with said outlet for drawing air out of saidtank and the mineral fragments therewith, said second blower meanshaving a greater capacity than said first blower means, and meansproviding an ore fragment outlet in the base of said tank for removingpartially demineralized ore fragments.

2. An apparatus for subjecting ore granules to ballistic interaction soas to free minerals from the surfaces of said ore granules including avertically disposed cylindrical tank, means providing an inlet at thebase of said tank, means for introducing ore granules in a high velocityupwardly moving air stream into said tank through said inlet, meansproviding a baffle adjacent the top of said tank in the path of said airstream, the ore granules carried in said air stream impinging upon saidbaflle and rebounding downwardly in said tank, a plurality of annulardeflector rings mounted in vertically spaced relation in said tank so asto encircle said air stream, said deflector rings tapering radiallyinwardly from the walls of said tank so as to have a triangular crosssection and functioning to deflect both upwardly and downwardly movingair granules, which have strayed from the air stream, back into the airstream so as to produce a ballistic interaction of the ore granules,means providing an air outlet from said tank above said bafllepermitting air and mineral fragments carried thereby to escape from saidtank, and means providing an outlet at the base of said tank for thepartially demineralized ore granules.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, including a siren for introducinghigh velocity sound waves to the interior of said tank.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, including a second cylindricaltank duplicating the first tank, and second blower means receiving thepartially demineralized ore granules from the outlet of said first tankfor injecting the partially demineralized ore granules verticallyupwardly into said second tank to further remove minerals from said oregranules, said second tank having an air outlet communicating with theair outlet of said first tank.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said baffle is resilient.

6. An apparatus for upgrading ore comprising means for fracturing theore into its natural granules, a tank, means providing an ore inlet tosaid tank, blower means associated with said inlet for hurling the oregranules into said tank in an air stream, means providing a bathe insaid tank for reflecting the ore granules carried in the air stream inan opposite direction, a deflector element mounted in said tank fordeflecting the oppositely moving or granules into the air stream therebyproducing ballistic interaction of the ore granules, means providing anair outlet at the top of said tank permitting escape of air from saidtank along with mineral fragments carried thereby, and means providingan outlet in the base of said tank permitting escape of partiallydemineralized ore fragments.

7. In a method of ore upgrading, the steps of breaking a mass of oreinto natural granules of a predetermined mesh, the natural ore granulesbeing comprised of minerals adhered to the surfaces of gangue particles,directing the granules through a tank in a collimated fluid streampassing in one direction therethrough; and reflecting the granules inthe fluid stream in a direction opposite said one direction whereby thereflected granules ballistically interact with the granules carried bythe collimated fluid stream to release the minerals from the surfaces ofthe gangue particles, the fluid stream carrying the released mineralsfrom the tank whereby the minerals are separated from the gangueparticles.

8. The method according to claim 7, including the step of subjecting thefluid stream to high frequency sound waves simultaneously with theballistic interaction of the granules to prevent recombination of thereleased minerals with the gangue particles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS197,897 Rice Dec. 4, 1877 443,901 Craig Dec. 30, 1890 447,027 HallowellFeb. 24, 1891 1,325,676 McKelvey Dec. 23, 1919 1,619,295 Gardner Mar. 1,1927 1,847,009 Kollbohm Feb. 23, 1932 2,363,937 Brandt et a1. Nov. 28,1944 2,538,833 De Rycke Jan. 23, 1951 2,672,296 Venable Mar. 16, 19542,709,552 Lecher May 31, 1955 2,826,369 Haltmeier Mar. 11, 19582,832,545 Segraves Apr. 29, 1958 2,853,241 Gindofi et' al. Sept. 23,1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 274,278 Great Britain July 21, 1927 :UNITED STATESPATENT. OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent Non 3 O62 458 November 61962 Arthur Go Dearing It is hereby certified that error appears in theabove numbered patent requiring correction and that the said LettersPatent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 18,, for "seperating" read. separating line 35, for"ballastic" read ballistic column 3, line 34, for "or" read ore line 61strike out' "of"; line 65, for The" read This column 6, line 16, for"or" read ore Signed and sealed this 16th day of April 1963,

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID L. LADD Attesting Officer j Commissioner ofPatents

